The present invention relates to subterranean operations and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for monitoring and processing wellbore data.
Performance of subterranean operations entails various steps, each using a number of devices. For instance, one of the steps in performing subterranean operations is the performance of drilling operations.
Drilling operations play an important role when developing oil, gas or water wells or when mining for minerals and the like. During the drilling operations, a drill bit passes through various layers of earth strata as it descends to a desired depth. Drilling fluids are commonly employed during the drilling operations and perform several important functions including, but not limited to, removing the cuttings from the well to the surface, controlling formation pressures, sealing permeable formations, minimizing formation damage, and cooling and lubricating the drill bit. Similarly, completion fluids may be used when performing subterranean operations.
It is important to monitor the performance of subterranean operations to ensure they satisfy job requirements and meet safety standards. For instance, a mud engineer at the rig site may perform a number of tests each day. These tests are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and will therefore not be discussed in detail herein. The mud engineer may report results of tests that are performed several times per day in a single mud report reflecting the status of operations. Additionally, various sensors may provide pieces of data regarding different aspects of the operations being performed. However, the information obtained from various components is currently not integrated into a central intelligent system which is capable of processing the information received and optimizing system performance. Therefore, current methods and systems fail to optimize the overall system performance in real-time.
For instance, the mud engineer typically sends the mud report to a technical professional in an office which may be remotely located. The technical professional and the mud engineer will then analyze the report in order to address any problems reflected therein. Typically, the mud report provides information regarding the properties of the drilling fluid at the surface. That information may then be used to model the subterranean operation. However, by the time a problem is identified, the mud report may already be several hours old. As a result, the mud report and the corresponding data generated regarding the subterranean operation using that report may not be indicative of the operations at the exact point in time. Moreover, the delay in identification and remedy of any potential problems adversely impacts the performance of the subterranean operations.